Tag



Sept. 23, 1952 w, s z 2,611,199

' TAG I I Filed March 4, 1949 2 SHEETS-SEET l EN TOR.

W124 ky/ Sept. 23, 1952 r w. STELZER 2,611,199

' TAG Filed March 4, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Sept. 23, 1952 TAG -William-Stelzer, Summit, N. 1., assignor to Stofiel SealsfCorporation, Tuckahoe, N. Y.

' Application March 4, 1949, Serial No. 79,600

This invention relates to tags and more particularly to tags used for grading fowl such as chickens or turkeys, or for other articles or merchandise. 7

One of the objects of 'the'present invention is to provide a novel tag of"-circular,- rectangular or like shape for easy attachment to the breast of a chicken or turkey by pinching a loose and thin skin portion thereof without piercing or damaging it, only one hand of the operator being employable to achieve such attaching operation. v v

Another object of theinvention is -to'provide means affording a tamperproof tag of the aforesaid character to the extent to prevent or discourage its reuse after removal.

A further object of the invention is to provide means ensuring simplicity of attaching theta-g which can be closed with one hand with a minimum of effort or skill.

The invention also aims at a construction of a tag of the above type which requires a minimum amount of material so that the tag can be manufactured from a single piece of material by'mas production methods and inexpensively. H i

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings submitted for the purpose of illustration and not t define the scope of the invention, reference being had for that purpose to the subjoined claims. In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views: d

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional elevation of a .closed tag made in accordance with the invention and shown as attached to the skin of a fowl;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional elevation of the tag in open position, the section being taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 3; I

Fig. 3 is a rear view ofthetag; Y

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a-modified em bodiment of thejinvention; p

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional elevation of th& embodiment of Fig. 4, showing-the tag in open .25 Claims. (C1. 40-3) position, the section being taken on line 5-5 A a 2 Fig. 10 is a rear view of the same tag; Fig. 11 is-a front elevation of another modified form of the invention. I

' Fig. 12 18a rear view of the tag shown. in Fig-11;

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view |3+l3 of Fig. 12, and

Fig-'14 is an enlarged section taken .on Ml4 of Fig. 12. 7 Before explaining the present invention in detaiL'it is to be understood that. the invention is not limited in its application to the details taken I on line line of construction and arrangement of elements illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since theinvention is capable, of other embodiments and of being practised or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not limitation.

The tag shown in Figs. 1 to 3 comprises a circular disc or body portion 15 on whose front face It is printed. the identification, grading, or price or anarticle or merchandise. The peripheral edge of the disc is bent backwards to form a rim I i slightly curled or curved as shown to produce a dishedmain body portion forming a, depression. The lower portion'of the rim has an extension in the form ofa tongue or flap l8 foldable about an axis extending through a point at If! to enter into saiddepression. This axis is shown and designated by numeral 29in Fig. 3, the same view showing a pierced slot 2| provided to weaken the connection of the flap 8 with the remaining portion l5 and facilitate bending of flap 18 about axis 20. The flap has also a knee or break at 22 along which there are provided perforations or weakening lines 23 to assure any bending to take place along these lines, said flap [8 with its knee forminga toggle. Thepurpose of the break or bend at 22 is "to shorten'the distance between axis 20 and the tip of the'tongue 2 1 so th'at' when :theflap .is folded about axis 20' against the back face of the disc the tip 24 has suflicient clearance with edge 25 of rim I1 but when the flap is'straightenedout as shown in Fig. 1 the length is increased so that the tip is forced into the hollowrim to 'become'securely' locked, tongue l8 being sufiiciently ductile to retain its bent shape. Thus in order to secure the tag to the skin on the breast of a chicken or other fowl, the tag shown in Fig. 2 is held between forefinger and thumb and pushed against the loose skin'to produce. a small Welt or fold 26 whence flap I8 forming one part of said tag is folded against 'the back of disc l5 forming the other part of said tag as shown in Fig. 1. When the tip is arrested by touching the surface of the disc, the middle portion is straightened out so that tip 24 is forced into the interior defined by rim to pinch the skin firmly between the edge of tip 24 and the inside wall of rim l1. By fully pressing the central portion of flap l8 against the back of disc IS the flap assumes a slight bend over center where the knee 22 is reversed so that the flap is locked quite securely as any attempt to pull tip 24 away from rim I! would merely press the central portion of the tongue more tightly against the disc. Thus the tag is securely fastened to the breast of the chicken and hangs close to the body, or article, which is indicated by numeral 21. The removal of the tag by the consumer should be accomplished in a manner which does not injure or tear the skin. For this purpose I provide perforations or weakened lines 28 indisc l so that the latter may be pierced witha pointed instrument with which flap [8 may be pushed away to release the skin. It is evident that after a hole is torn through the face on lines 28 the tag could not be used again.

The construction shown in Figs. 4-7 comprises a rectangular piece of bendable, ductile sheet metal 29 having a face 30 which may bear the required marking or inscription. The edges of the tag are turned back .to form rims 3| and 32, the latter being curled over to provide a jaw with an inner lip 33 for a purpose to be described later. The lowerportion of the rim is extended to serve as the'flap or tongue 34 which is also bent in the middle to give it the same toggle-like action in closing as in the first embodiment. The sides of the tongue or flap are bent down, except in the center where the knee action occurs, to serve as reinforcements or re inforcing ribs 35 and to provide smooth corners where the tongue is handled in closing. The width is of such size asto enter into the rectangular body 29, 3| freely without leaving suflicient space to permit the insertion of a tool between the sides of the tongue andrims 3! after the tag is closed. On the line where the tongue is supposed to bend a narrow slot 36 is provided so that only a very small force is required for bending when the tag is being attached. Another slot 31 is provided at the base of the tongue for the same purpose, except that this slot is sufliciently wide for the insertion of a pointed instrument with which the tag can be removed by the consumer. By inserting such instrument through slot 31 to pry flap 34 into an open position the section of face 30 weakened on lines 39 is torn outwardly so that the tag is destroyed by its removal. The method'of attaching the tag to the breast of-a fowl is substantially the same as already described'for the first embodiment, a difference existing ;only in the shape of upper rim 32 forming tongue engageable means where lip 33 provides a smooth surface to the skin in the attaching operation, but offers an edge against removal of the tag. It should be understood that it is very undesirable to cut or tear the skin when the tag is attached, but on the other hand a sharp edge is necessary to retain the tag to the skin securely. It is also necessary that the tip of the flap is sharp enough that when pressed over the surface of the skin it does not merely slide over it but digs in sumciently to produce a fold or welt which can be pinched between the tip of the tongue and the inside surface of rim 32. As shown in Fig. 6,

the tip ofthe tongue or flap 34 consists rather of two small tips 38 whose outer edges are rounded off so that no shearing action can take place when the tongue is pressed with the body past rims 3|.

In another variation of the invention, illustrated in Figs. 8-10, the tongue 39 has a small central toothed tip 40 extending farther than the main portion of the flap, and adapted to cooperate with the upper rim 4| whose central portion is curled over to form a notch having two spaced apart ears 42 bent downwardly and inwardly to engage the shoulders 43 of flap 39. Since the toothed tip 40 extends farther out than the shoulders, the skin to which the tag is to be attached is picked up only by the tip and upon closure of the tag the shoulders 43 have a metal to metal contact with the ears 42, while the skin of the fowl is pinched between the toothed tip 40 and the inner surface of rim 4|. Similar to theconstruction in Fig. 6, flap 39 is perforated or weakened at 44 and 45 to confine bending to these points, whereby the flap acts in the manner of a toggle, the attaching operation having been explainedin Fig. 1. Removal of the tag by the consumer is effected by piercing through the partly punched portions or knockouts 46 with some instrument. They are located on the face of the tag near the side walls or rims 4'! so that such an instrument as a table fork may be used.

For a tag where economy of material is desired the invention may be carried out as shown in Figs. 11-14, where the tag has a square or diamond shapedwall 48 with edges turned back to form a rim 49 on all four sides. On one side the rim is-extended at 50 bending inwardly to serve as the base for a flap or tongue 5| extending angularly away from the back of the wall 48 but being foldable about lines or points 52 and 53 to fall into engagement with a fixed locking tab 54 which is also an extension of rim 49 at the top of the tag. As seen by inspection of Fig. 13, the toggle action flap 5| is the same in principle as those described in the other embodiments. A prong 55 punched out of the plane of rim 49 serves as a catch for tongue 5| when the latter is pressed against the back of the tag in the attaching operation to lock the tongue securely in place. Its locked position is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 14. The removal of the tag by the consumer is facilitated by an ear 56 under which a tool may be inserted to pry it away from wall 48, whereby it becomes unfit for further use.

It is apparent that the invention may be used in other applications besides those mentioned, particularly for price tickets to be attached to sheer fabrics or other merchandise which might easily be damaged by pins or staples.

It is well understood that instead of two tips 24 as shown in Fig. 3, only a-single central tip 40 may be employed as seen in Fig. 10.

It is further to be noted that tips 24 may also be serrated or provided with teeth as seen in Fig. 10.

It is also possible to employ instead of the flap 18 or 34 performing a toggle-like action, flaps with a normally outwardly bulging central ,finger piece which may be pushed into the interior of the tag body in order to cooperate with the rim [1, 4| or 49, as the case may be, and for the same purpose as hereinabove explained with respect to flap l8, namely, to bring about locking of the tip O the flap with the end of the rim through the intermediary of the material to which the tag "is to be attached Having thus described'the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured b Letters Patent, is: i I

1. A sheet metal tag comprising a dish-shaped main body, a tongue hinged to one end of said main body and extending rearwardly thereof, said main body including locking means at the other end thereof and for cooperation with the tip of said tonguesaid tongue forming a toggle having a knee bent to point away from the rear portion of said main body, said tongue when in looking position engages with its tip said lock ing means and being deformed to extend from said one end toward said other end within the confines of said dish-shaped main body, and means incorporated in saidknee or said tongue to weaken the latter and to facilitate manipulation of said tip of said tongue into said locking position.

:2. A sheet metal tag'according to claim 1, wherein said knee is shaped to .point toward said main body whensaid tip of said tongue is in said locked position.

3. A closable tag structure comprising a main portion having opposite ends, a tongue extending from one end of saidmain portion and terminating in' a tip, said tongue being bendable against saidmain portion about an axis located adjacent said one end of said main portion, the other end of said main portion being provided with tongue engageable means, said tongueincluding two sections extending in angular relation to each other to form a toggle, the sections of said tongue being of such iength that when said tongue sections are swung about said axis against said main portion, the tip of said tongue clears said tongue engageable means and upon subsequent straightening of said toggle engages said tongue engageable means, whereby foldable material of an article to which said tag structure is applied is pinched between said tip of said tongue and said tongue engageable means.

4. A tag structure according to claim 3, including weakening means provided in said tongue and adjacent said axis, said weakening means extending substantiallyparallelfto said axis.

5. A tag structure according'to claim 3, including weakening means provided in said tongue and adjacent said axis, said weakening means extending in a direction substantially perpendicu'lar to said axis.

6. A tag structure according to claim 3, wherein said tongue engageable means is in the form of a lip resulting from a curled over rim of said main portion.

'7. A tag formed of a single piece of sheet metal comprising a main portion having a tongue engageable jaw at one end, a tongue rearwardly of said main portion extending from the other end of said main portion and bendable about an axis near the junction of said main portion and said tongue so that the latter can be folded against said main portion, said tongue being bent to form a toggle joint whose knee points away from said main portion, said tongue having a tip adapted to gather thin foldahle nia terial of an article to which said tag to be applied, whereby upon application of pressure near said knee said tongue is folded against said main portion and straightened out after said tip is in contact with said main portion, said tongue being of such length that said tip or" said tongue is locked in said jaw after said tongue is straightenedlou t to pinch said material between said tip and sa'id jaw, and a depression in said main portion to facilitate bending of said tongue beyond the .dead' center of said tog le joint whereby in said locked'position said knee is located in said depression and points toward said main portion, and whereby said toggle urges said tongue to remain locked.

:8. A tag according to claim'7, including-weakeningmeans extending'at said knee.

9. A tag according to claim '7, including weakening means, respectively, provided at said'knee and at sa'idjunction. i

10. The combination; a closable tag struc ture having two parts, of a toggle forming one of said parts and terminating in'a free end, with means provided on the other part of said tag and engageable with said end of said toggle when said toggle is pressed against said other part in closed position of said tag structure.

:11. Ihe combination according to claim 10, wherein said'toggle is -in the form ofa tongue and extending from said other part of said tag, said engageable means being disposed on said other part .and extending from a location opposite to. that of said tongue."

12. A'tag made of a single piece of ductile sheet metal comprising a body portion, flap locking means at one end of said body portion, and a whose knee points away from'said body portion when said flap is folded towards said body portion, said flap beingof such'length as to be locked in said flap locking means after being folded against sa'idbodyportion and flattened out where the angularity of said knee is shaped so that said toggle joint approaches a nearly straight line.

13. A tag according to claim 12, including a depression in said body portion to accommodate said knee of said toggle joint, so that in locked position said toggle joint'may be reversedwhere its knee points toward said body portion. 14. A substantially dish shaped sheet metal tag having a front portion, atongue extending back- Wardly' of said front portion, said tongue being bent in the middle, portion to form a toggle so that the knee thereof points outwardly from the back of said tag,.locking means arranged in a position near anedge of said front portion to cooperate with the tip of said tongue to lock the latter in a closed position when said tongue is folded against the back of said front portion and extends therealong in close relation thereto, and means to prevent the salvage of said tag for reuse. 15. A substantially dish-shaped sheet metal tag having a main portion with edges thereon turned back to form a rim, a tongue extending from said rim at one end and foldable so that its tip swings into a pre-determined position at the other end of said tag, locking. means at said other end of said main portion to engage the tipof said tongue after closure and to lock it in position, said tongue being bent in the middle portion thereof to form a toggle joint having a knee, so that upon folding of said tongue the tip of the tongue touches the back surface of said main portion before the knee of said toggle joint, the length of said tongue being so proportioned that it is able to swing into engagement with said locking means and that upon flattening out of said knee and consequent lengthening of said tongue the latter becomes locked, and weakened parts in said tag through which an instrument may be pierced to release said tongue and to render said tag unusable.

16. A tag according to claim 15, wherein the tip of said tongue has a toothed edge for engagement with a thin foldable material and to anchor it within said rim.

17. A tag according to claim 15, wherein said body portion is substantially circular in shape, said knee of said tongue being provided with perforations to facilitate bending of said tongue about said knee.

18. A tag according to claim 15, including reinforcing ribs at the lateral edges of said tongue and interrupted at said knee.

19. A tag according to claim 15, wherein said one rim end is provided with perforations sufllciently large to facilitate the insertion of an instrument to pry said tongue into an open position.

20. A tag according to claim 15, wherein said tongue fits closely between said rim when closed to prevent the insertion of an instrument for opening said tag.

21. A tag formed of a single piece of sheet metal for attachment to an article having soft foldable material, comprising a body portion having a front face, a tongue having side edges, said tongue extending from one end of said body portion and being folded over'to be positioned away from and opposite the rear face of said body portion, said tongue being bent to form a toggle having a knee, a toothed tip at the end of said tongue adapted for gripping said material, said tip being narrower than the remainder of said tongue leaving a pair of shoulders on the latter,

locking means at the other end of said body portion and curled over to form a partly closed rim, said rim being notched a short distance opposite said toothed tip, said tongue being bendable at said one end into engagement with said locking means, whereby after depression of said knee against the rear face of said body portion, and consequent lengthening of said tongue said shoulders become looked under said rim and said material is pinched between the toothed tip of said tongue and said rim.

22. A tag according to claim'2l, including side walls bent over from said body portion to flank said side edges of saidtongue, and knockouts in the front face of said body portion to facilitate the insertion of an instrument to push said tongue into an unlocked position and to render said tag unusable.

23. A tag formed of a single piece of sheet metal for attachment to soft foldable material,

comprising a body portion having a front face for bearing marks or printed matter, a narrow bent tongue forming a toggle and extending from said body portion, said tongue being foldable upon said body portion, a tab extending from said body portion and located to be in locking engagement with the tip of said tongue when the latter is folded against said body portion to pinch said material between the tip of said tongue and the underside of said tab, a prong extending from said body portion and arranged to act as a catch to lock said tongue in place when folded against said body portion, and means on said tongue for the insertion of an instrument to facilitate opening of said tongue for removal of said tag and to render said tag unusable.

24. A breast tag of inelastic material comprising a dished body portion having a tongue engageable formation, and a tongue opposite said formation, said tongue being bent intermediate its ends to form a toggle, said tongue engaging said formation when said toggle is straightened.

25. A breast tag of inelastic material comprising a dished body portion provided with a tongue engageable formation at one end, and a tongue having one end integral with said body portion and arranged opposite said formation, said tongue extending normally at an acute angle to said body portion and being bent intermediate its ends to form a toggle, said tongue engaging with the other end said formation when said toggle is straightened.

WILLIAM STELZER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,606,881 Lenk Nov. 16, 1926 1,921,077 Gey Aug. 8, 1933 1,934,341 Brooks Nov. 7, 1933 1,957,023 Hutnikow May 1, 1934 1,961,806 Weiss June 5, 1934 1,984,880 Ker et al Dec. 18, 1934 2,021,933 Dietze Nov. 26, 1935 2,093,943 Thomas Sept. 21, 1937 2,590,883 Nierhaus Apr. 1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,254 England Feb. 10, 1906 151,419 England Sept. 30, 1920, 

